Dr. Tanner McKnight was named as Florida Polytechnic University’s Interim Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in June 2025. He brings a wealth of financial and educational leadership experience from both private and public sector organizations. With experience in K-12, junior-college, and university financial administration, he has held positions at all levels and overseen the departments of finance/accounting, procurement, human resources, information technology, facilities and physical plant, risk management, and auxiliary services. McKnight specializes in investment management, budget analytics, debt restructuring, and alternative revenue generation.
Education
This session will demonstrate that practical risk management is for everyone, regardless of a formal program. Attendees will learn actionable and simple strategies that are easy to implement, enabling them to start immediately by focusing on their top risks to build greater operational resilience and ensure the sustained success of their auxiliary enterprises.
Michelle Powell serves as the pioneering Risk Manager at Florida Polytechnic University, the state’s sole 100% STEM-dedicated institution. Having been with the university for nearly 11 years, Michelle transitioned from a leadership role in Admissions in October 2023 to establish and evolve the risk management function from the ground up. In this solo capacity, Michelle builds robust frameworks for our dynamic, young university, overseeing our insurance portfolio, consulting on third-party and event risks, and developing critical campus-wide training programs. Michelle has obtained the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) Enterprise Risk Management certificate and the Associate in Risk Management (ARM) and Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS) designations. Her distinct background in mathematics and engineering, combined with extensive higher education leadership, brings an analytical and strategic approach enhancing the institution’s resilience.
